Bryan Park walk with Sue Ridd on March 1st rescheduled for March 8th

The March/April 2015 Issue of the Thrasher is online.

Get Your Richmond Audubon T-Shirt!

For a limited time (February 19 - March 10) you can order a Richmond Audubon T-shirt sporting the new logo, designed by our own Ben Griffon. Several style options available, and $8.50 from each shirt sold comes back to Richmond Audubon if we meet our goal of selling 50 shirts.
Purchase here!

Upcoming Member Meeting Programs:

Unless otherwise stated below, member programs begin at 7:00 pm with coffee and dessert starting at 6:30 pm at St. Luke Lutheran Church on Custis Road.

March 19th – Birds and Climate Change

Join us and meet Dr. Gary Langham, National Audubon VP and Chief Scientist. Audubon released its Birds and Climate Change report last September. As the world gets warmer, the Baltimore Oriole will probably no longer live in Maryland, the Common Loon might leave Minnesota, and the Trumpeter Swan could be entirely gone. Dr Langham will share some of the Climate Modeling Project results – the analysis of winter and summer ranges of 588 North American Birds in response to future climate change. Come learn from one of Audubon’s top scientists about the powerful message the Birds and Climate Change report contains
about birds and the world we share with them as our climate warms. Help make informed decisions to conserve birds.

April 16th – Project Perry / The Central Virginia Parrot Sanctuary

We will welcome Matt Smith, Executive Director and Founder of Project Perry. Matt Smith will share the story of the Parrot sanctuary in Louisa Virginia. Joupityr, a parrot and spokesman for the Sanctuary will accompany him. Project Perry / The Central Virginia Parrot Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and sanctuary of parrots living in captivity. Their primary mission is to provide exceptional natural environments for our residents where they can enjoy the enrichment of flight and the togetherness of flock with excellent care provided by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers. Parrots and other exotic birds represent the largest population of captive wildlife in the U.S., and the need to protect them continues to grow. Our impact extends beyond our residents through outreach and education - helping to improve the lives of birds everywhere. Says Smith, “Each bird has a story, it is up to us to listen.”

RAS helps home-schoolers appreciate birds

A group of 18 home-schoolers from Hanover completed a CBC mural on December 9, 2014 that was displayed at the Ashland Public Library through January, 2015.

New - Guide to Gulls of the Richmond Area

Find out more about our fascinating local gulls with identification tips and photos from RAS's very own Arun Bose.

A Young Birder Shares His Experience at Audubon's Hog Island Camp

Prothonotary Warbler Program Data Available

At the February 2013 membership meeting, members of Richmond Audubon built 28 replacement Prothonotary Warbler nest boxes for the long term conservation project currently run by Bob Reilly and members of the VCU biology department, with help from Richmond Audubon volunteers. We put our names or initials on the boxes we built, and Bob has provided the following report on the outcomes for those boxes over the 2013 and 2014 breeding seasons. Bob reports that six additional boxes will need their location verified at the start of the 2015 season before results are available on them.

Come Join Us…

You are invited to join this active organization in our appreciation of birds. We offer frequent bird watching field trips, monthly members meetings and an array of bird related resources, plus local bird news articles. We welcome everyone who has an interest in our feathered friends, from the casual back yard birders and kids, to life-long birding veterans. All RAS sponsored events are open to both members and non-members and are usually free; visitors are always welcome and encouraged to participate.